They say, don't meet your heroes...but in this case, they were wrong! I've been in love with Callaway Vettes since following the Callaway Sledgehammer in 1988. Nice ones are getting harder and harder to find, even though Callaway still supports these cars. This 28k mile example has every piece of documentation possible, remains stunningly fast and capable as a road car, and is just a joy to drive fast. It is an official B2K car and stickered for $70k in 1988(!). When the aerobody kit, which was tested on the Sledgehammer, became available and offered for retrofit to earlier Callaways in 1989/90, the then-owner took advantage. Thank you!
1973 Dodge D500 factory MOPAR race transporter
I have a huge soft spot for race transporters, and this is one of the coolest I've come across. This 1973 Dodge D500 was a factory MOPAR race hauler, originally ordered through Mr Norm's famous Grand Spaulding Dodge. This one has a beautiful aluminum box rear by Brown Bros, including oak flooring, winch, work area, and sleeper compartment.
1954 Corvette
Beautiful old '54, with original engine, original pennant blue paint underneath the 1960 repaint job, and just two prior owners. A 3-speed manual from a '55 Corvette replaced the original 2 speed auto. This car was stored in a box truck on an eastern PA property from 1974 until it was unearthed in 2017. It is complete with its original hubcaps and side windows, and is once again in running and driving condition. We'll leave this once looking exactly the way it does!
1969 Corvette 427 convertible
Here's a no-hit, original drivetrain, and mostly original paint, 60k mile, 427/390 4-speed convertible. Fully documented with original dealer paperwork, tank sticker, and PoP, this is a rare hardtop only car. It runs and drives perfectly.
1970 Corvette LT-1
I like blue cars and a 1970 LT-1 has been on my personal "list" for years. When I saw this highly original, documented example in Bridgehampton blue, I knew I'd found the one. Original drivetrain and a seeminly no-hit body sealed the deal. The only power option is brakes. This car was built on the same day in February 1970 as my LS5 example.
1964 Shelby Cobra 289, CSX2317
One of a small handful of original, largely unrestored rack and pinion 289 Cobras left...and still wearing 50 year old heavy lacquer paint! This car was sold new at Town & Country Motors in Reseda, CA. Kept in a garage and unused from 1972 until 1997, this Cobra is unmolested with just 29k original miles. Although invoiced to Shelby American from AC as Vineyard green with beige interior, the car was given FIA rolled fenders, painted a mystic blue, fitted with Halibrand large pin drive hubs, magnesium wheels, and a roll bar, plus engine tuning commensurate with SCCA B-Production specs, all supposedly by Shelby American at the request of the new owner. Tewnty five years in a garage preserved the car well but the original beige interior was savaged by rodents so a re-trim in black was completed by Mike McCluskey in 1997. The car was also fitted with new alloy FIA wheels to replace the deteriorated original mags. Other competition equipments includes five bolt Cobra bellhousing, Bellanger headers, and an iron case top-loader (the original T-10 has remained with the car). Original markings are evident on the frame and the transverse front spring is still in its original cloth wrapping. Featured in Tom Cotter's "Hemi in the Barn" book as the Divorcee Cobra.
1932 Ford Roadster, ex-Jack Kukura
Unrestored, historic 1932 Kukura roadster. Property of Gear Grinder member Jack Kukura from 1940 until his death in 2004. Condition is as it was last raced in 1960 when it achieved 200mph before spinning at Bonneville. Genuine and documented, SCTA Dry Lakes racing history from 1947 through 1960. One owner, builder, co-driver (with Jim Lindsley),1940 till his death in 2004. Flat head V8-powered until 1957 when it was upgraded to a Hampton-supercharged, first generation Hemi, punched out to 455cid. All build and running records detailed in writing by Mr. Kukura shortly before his death. Complete with timing tags, trophies, and period videos from Bonneville and El Mirage.
A young Jack Kukura with the roadster - Mt Baldy c1947
1964 Shelby Cobra 289 FIA, CSX7014 - SOLD to France
Correct transverse leaf spring 289 car in full competition trim: fire supression, 48mm Webers, heavy-duty cooling, Vertex mag, electrical shut-off, fuel cell, etc. 404 hp, 2100 lbs.
'64 Shelby Cobra FIA 289
1970 Plymouth 'Cuda V-Code 440 6-BBL This is a well-documented, 42k mile, numbers-matching, V-code 440 6-BBL 'Cuda. It is one of three '70 V-code 440 'Cudas built in TX9 black with white interior. This is also a factory Super Trak-Pak car with the Dana 60 4.10 Sure-Grip rear. Other options: hemi 4-speed, 8-track player, power front disks, rally dash, and original shaker hood.
1953 Allard K3 Beautifully restored '53 K3 with original 331 cid Caddy V8 power. One of 62 K3s made. Alloy bodied with American V8 engines, these are widely viewed as the first real muscle cars and their recipe pre-dates the Shelby Cobras by more than a decade. This particular K3 has been updated for long-distance rally duty with an alternator charging system, Penske racing shocks, and a Tremec 5 spd manual replacing the original LaSalle 3 spd.
1966 Shelby GT-350
This is a well-documented (ownership history back to new, original dealer invoice and purchase order, in the Shelby Registry, and Ford VIN has been verified by SAAC), '66 GT350, #2310. The car was sold new through Hi-Performance Motors in Los Angeles in October of '66 to stock broker, Gail Carver. In 1970, Richard Shelquist purchased the car and modified it for SCCA B-Production racing with an SCCA-approved roll bar, relocated front suspension points (per R cars), panhard bar, and Trans-Am spec differential. Richard also installed a '65-type dash pod. His biggest change however was the installation of a Boss 302. The original 306hp 289 currently resides in a GT350H. Richard owned the car until 12/77 when he sold it to another Californian who swapped the single four barrel induction for a super-rare, super exotic, race-only Cross-Boss intake and Autolite in-line Four Barrel carb. It then passed through several California owners until finding me. Below are some period photos of the car provided by Richard Shelquist, as well as some recent photos.
GT350 #2310, Mission Bay, San Diego, early 70s (Note: negative is reversed.)
January 1976, Boss 302 ready for installation
today
Boss 302 w/ Cross-Boss induction
1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula SD-455
Restored, super rare (1 of 43) '73 Super Duty Formulas. This Admiralty Blue with White interior beauty is fully documented with original order form, window sticker, warranty card, etc. The Super Duty 455 engines from '73 and '74 were about the best US performance engine being offered then, the early years of more stringent US emissions regulations. Four bolt mains, strengthened blocks, forged pistons, stronger connecting rods, performance cam, and Pontiacs best iron cylinder heads added up to a very conservatively rated 290hp SAE net. These engine are widely reported to produce more than 350hp net and are reliable to 6k rpm. There's even a factory provision for dry-sump lubrication. Heady stuff for an oil-crisis offering...
1973 Firebird Formula SD-455
1969 Camaro COPO (clone) - SOLD to Michigan This is a professionally restored 1969 Camaro - originally an SS350 - restored as a COPO 427, but running a real, correct L88 instead of the COPO standard L72. Fantastic detail throughout - absolute first class restoration by Rick Bawcom at Katy Classics (www.katyclassiccars.com). It's a late-'68 build, '69 model Norwood V8 Camaro (X codes did not come about until the week after this car was built). It's an original Fathom Green car with Hounds Tooth interior per the cowl tag. Lots of COPO-correct parts on this one including bent neck radiator, intake, carb, exhaust manifolds. Engine is a '69 4-bolt main "512" block L88 427 and spins through a Tremec 3450 5-spd, then to a GM 12-bolt posi rear. The L88 is built to stock L88 specs - L88 blue print cam, 7115 steel crank, NOS GM 3946074 aluminum heads - pump-gas-friendly 10.5:1 instead of the original 12.5:1. Still, with two points lower compression and built to stock specs, this motor makes 465hp on the dyno (i.e. at the crank). Exhaust is a correct chambered system. Interior has console gauge pack and rosewood wheel. Cowl induction hood is steel.
1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT (Euro)
This is a European model '72 Dino that was imported from Italy in 1977. Fortunately, the importing owner paid all the EPA/DOT fines instead of actually converting the car to US specification (which would have required adding side mirrors and hideous side marker lights, among other changes). Euro models like this car generate the full rated 195hp while US versions return around 180. This car benefits further from hotter cams, head work, and uprated exhaust. It's also a touch lighter than a US version. Running expense is high, but these cars are simply sublime to drive.
'72 Euro-spec Dino
1988 Porsche Carrera Club Sport - SOLD
One of just 22 Club Sports imported to the US, this one has been a racer since almost new. Porsche documented, this CS is even rarer thanks to dark Blue factory paint and Marine blue interior. The original 3.2 liter flat six was replaced years ago with an extremely potent 3.8 liter VarioRam motor producing around 325hp. As well, the car benefits from some serious lightening on top of the factory diet unique to the Club Sports. This CS tips the scales at just 2400 lbs.
1968 Iso Grifo
This is a very original Series I Iso Grifo, one of 471 Grifos built, and one of 165 high-horse GL350s or GL365s. This one has been light blue metallic with pumpkin leather interior for a long time, but when it starred in the movie "Niente Rose per OSS117" it was white. Occupying a unique place among Italian GT`s, the Iso Grifo truly has ingredients for greatness. Styling was by Giorgio Giugiaro at Bertone, and the chassis designed by Bizzarrini, famous, for among other things, the Ferrari GTO. Featuring all around Dunlop disc brakes (inboard at the rear), platform pressed steel chassis, de Dion rear axle, and coil springs all around, the chassis was sophisticated and decidedly European in its day, while the powerplants were venerable and durable Corvette V8s. This particular example was imported to the United States from Italy in the early 1980`s by Winston Goodfellow and featured by serial number in his excellent book, Iso Rivolta: The Men, The Machines.
1968 Lotus 51A FF (Formula Ford) - SOLD to Australia Beautifully turned out ex-Russell school Lotus 51A that was restored by Casey Annis, Vintage RACECAR Magazine, in 1997.
1957 Cooper Mk XI
JAP-powered Cooper F3 car. So much fun it should be illegal.
1964 Corvette Sting Ray racer
This is an old racer with a lot of nice period touches. Suspension is all heavy duty with heim joints, beefed trailing arms, glass leaf spring, etc. Motor is a worked 400 small block with solid cam, scattershield, and mated to an M21 four speed. Front clip is '65 396, seats are '68 Corvette and wheels are true magnesium Torq Thrusts with Goodyear bias ply tires. The fender flares are mid- to late-seventies Thumper units which retain the Sting Ray's body line. We recently built a hybrid L72/L88 427 for the car, using an NOS #289 GM high nickel 4-bolt block, L72 forged 427 pistons and dimple connecting rods, and #074 L88/ZL1 aluminum cylinder heads. A set of Bill Thomas early-design L88 side exhaust headers will complete the revamp.
'64 Racer
1965 Corvette 396 Sting Ray, original M22 prototype car
Numbers-matching, original triple-black L78 with super-rare FC-code 4.56 posi rear, power brakes, side-exiting exhaust, knock off wheels, removable hardtop, and TI ignition. Complete original drive train, including prototype M22 Rockcrusher transmission, one of a small handful installed in 1965, and serial-numbered to this car. The original dealer was the famous, and performance-oriented, Washburn Chevrolet in Santa Barbara, CA. GM designated these prototype gearboxes for severe duty field testing (i.e. you, the buyer, couldn't order them, they had to be assigned by GM), so this car seems likely to have been ordered for racing. The search for info continues...
'65 Corvette L78
L78: 396cid, 425hp, 415ft-lbs
1966 Corvette 427 Sting Ray
This is a 3-owner, Top-Flite (95.2, Scottsdale meet, 1995) certified '66 427 coupe with original documentation (POP, warranty papers, manual, etc). The car was sold new in December 1965 to the CEO of a large midwestern steel company. I had been looking for a Laguna blue big-block coupe for a while and was leaning toward a 425 horse version but A/C was not an option with these cars and the condition of this particular 390 horse car sealed the deal. The car has 15 options total, including teak steering wheel, side exhaust, A/C, power windows, brakes, and steering, tilt/tele, TI ignition, M20 4-spd, and Gold Line tires.
1966 Corvette 427 Sting Ray
This is a 4-owner, Top-Flite certified L72 coupe with binders of original documentation (POP, window sticker, warranty papers, manual, pictures and registration receipts from new, etc). The car was sold new in April 1966 to Bell Currier of Lockheed Missle. Bell owned the car until 1989. I've always loved the Laguna Blue and Mosport Green colors offered in '66 (both one-year only colors) and the combination of original, unmolested condition and documentation sealed the deal on this car. The car was very well optioned when ordered new: L72, M21, side exiting exhaust, PS, PB, PW, F41 HD suspension, TI ignition, etc. When the L72 was rebuilt, it dyno'd 463hp at an owner-restricted 6,000 RPM. This is well below the 6400 rpm est of peak hp but the then owner wanted to be careful with the engine. It's safe to say that if allowed to run to redline this engine would have generated closer to 500hp at the crank. It's easy to understand where GM got their original 450hp gross rating for these engines. This particular '66 was California Rally Champion in '66 and '67 and still retains its Halda SpeedPilot rally computer and original California black plates.
in 1967, pulling the original owner's Corvette-powered v-drive boat
c1960 Corvette Racer
This is a real curiousity. Obviously someone's interpretation of the famous 1959 Bill Mitchell Stingray racer, I see a lot of potential in this very rough body and quare tube chassis. Set up for a small block Chevrolet, the body could have started as one of the small handful of Fiberfab Centurions...but I have my doubts as there are just too many glaring differences. This shares the same 92" wheelbase as the original Mitchell prototype, whereas the Fiberfab cars were built to 98' or 102" wheelbases. Loads more differences, but who cares? Looking forward to this project!
1970 Corvette Stingray LS5
As Tom Falconer put it in his excellent book on the ’68-’72 Corvette: “If you are only ever going to own just one big-block Corvette make it this one. The 1970 LS5 made 500lb-ft of torque at 3,400rpm. Torque is what big blocks are all about. Forget the aluminum-head L89 or the 425hp 396: this engine is the king. Smooth, quiet, easy-starting and with enough torque to go anywhere in top gear, this was the essence of what a big-block could be.”
This is Mulsanne Blue coupe with the bright blue interior, its original LS5 big-block, M21 4-spd, and 3.36 rear. First year for the 454 cid motor in the Vette and the last year for high compression engines (10.25:1 in the LS5). The result: 390hp, 500lb-ft. Mods are tasteful and period for the car: 8-track stereo, an original L88 hood, a Monza gas cap assembly, and a complete ’69 Corvette factory side-exhaust system. Other than white leather trimming on the seats, the rest of the car is stock. Except for the big motor, it’s a pretty low option car: no power steering, no power brakes, no A/C, and no power windows.
Although I've owned this car now for over 20 years, it was off the road from 2003-2013 due to a stripped thermostat housing bolt...and other life priorities. In 2013, my Dad and I spent a week getting it somewhat roadworthy and then drove it 1000 miles from GA to NY. I prompty sold the car on eBay to a local area pilot, figuring it needed as much work to put it right as it was worth. I asked him to give me a ROFR if he ever decided to sell it, which he was kind enough to do in early 2014. I jumped on the opportunity to buy the car back and immediately sent it to Richard Engelhard at A&R Corvette for some long over due attention. I also ordered the NCRS Shipping Report, which said this was originally sold through GM Overseas DIstribution Corp...which meant it was either exported when new or ordered by someone overseas (potentially a member of the military) or possibly a Hawaii car. Richard's work turned up some interesting stuff too: partial tank sticker and French AutoLaroche high beams. When Rich was done - complete front and rear suspension rebuild, new radiator, NOS fuel tank, NOS seat belts, correct carb, sourcing and fitting a correct spare tire carrier, R&R of the headlights and windshield wiper door, numerous electrical issues, etc - the car was sitting pretty enough to warrant pulling a set of period E-T mags out of storage that I'd been saving for just the right car...
circa 1999
mid-2013, after 1000 miles of Hell
early 2014
Done
1962 Corvette Fuelie
This '62 is a mid-production, numbers-matching factory fuel injected car (327/360) with 4.11 posi rear and Direct-Flow exhaust. The options, or lack thereof are what really caught my interest here. Other than the good motor, trans and rear, everything else was deleted including the heater, radio, and soft-top. By 1962, the heater was standard equipment. Only cars for export or race use even had the option (RPO610) of deleting the heater which was by now standard equipment. Curiously, the car does not have the heavy-duty brakes and suspension package that such cars ordered like this one usually had. Who knows, perhaps the car was intended as a drag racer which would explain the lack of focus on stiff suspension and good brakes.
As it sits today, the car is bone stock down to the factory ram-horn exhaust manifolds and cross-over, bias-ply tires, generator, and mechanical lifters. And it is fast. Weighing about 2800 pounds and with the 6.70 inch bias tires, it's a handful.
'62 Fuelie, delete car
1962 Corvette Fuelie Racer
I love this car now, but it's also a painful reminder to me of the biggest mistake I've made in collecting. I had the fever for a '62 fuelie in the worst way but couldn't afford one. So, I started looking for project cars...and the more project cars I missed, the lower my standards fell for what was acceptable. I even passed on this one the first time I saw it (as it was in the first photo). Fast forward a year or so and I find it for sale again, painted white with a red interior, 307 small block out of a '70 Camaro, rally wheels, '61 front clip, and cheapo side-exiting exhaust. The car was being sold through a dealer who had a wide range, from super high-end Corvettes to cars like this one. Although he kept emphasizing that the car had passed state inspection, my inspection revealed a flat out dangerous car. Keep in mind when I asked the dealer if the car could make a 250 miles trip home being driven, he replied "I see no reason why it couldn't." I'm laughing now as I type those words. I ended up spending about 8 hours going over the car. And I think the only reason I can now write about it, more than a decade later, is because I'd repressed the memory.
Test drive: The test drive was one of the scariest things I've ever done. The car smoked as though it was on fire, and constantly. At stops, visibility was limited by smoke. Two of the four gears were operable and the car went down the road slightly sideways...like a plane coming in for a landing in a cross wind.
The lift: Up on the lift, the frame showed obvious, major repairs. Although the rear dog leg section looked good, the front upturn on both sides, and the middle straight sections looked...well, strange. Probing one section in particular with my index finger...it went through. Yes, I poked a hole in the frame with my finger. I was immediately overcome with a fear that the car, which was being suspended on a two-post lift, was about to break in half over my head. I felt like the guy in Christine: here i was falling in love with a car that might be about to kill me. Well, it would have sooner or later I'm sure if left unattended. The fiberglass showed signs of a fire around the firewall area, and the '61 front body clip was attached underneath with chicken wire instead of fiber matting. In hindsight, it seems a fire, possibly engine fire probably consumed the front of the car and possibly in an accident.
The trunk: Remember, I still had visions of driving this car home. So I ask to see what's in the trunk. The dealer asks why I would want to see what was in the trunk? I said I wanted to see the spare and if the jacking equipment was there. He reluctantly opened the trunk. You know when you leave or enter a dark room and your eyes have to adjust to the change in light? Well, it took me a few seconds to realize what I was looking at. There was a spare. But on top of that spare was a five gallon gas jug. There was a hole in the cap with a black rubber fuel hose coming out of it and going to a small electric fuel pump and then in the general direction of the front of the car. Yep, the future is plastic. This would really make getting to the spare a challenge...not to mention the other obvious problems created and suggested by the Rube Goldberg fuel system.
The deal: It's getting late in the day and I had decided to pass on the car. I kept mumbling to myself and my buddy that had come with me to drive the rental car back, how beautiful the car looked. Ok, granted, I was making these comments after we'd walked about 50 feet from the car. His response, which I'll never forget: "Jamie, that's what it is supposed to look like." At this point, I should have replied, "You're exactly right, and this is what they all basically look like. This is a dangerous car that would be a money-pit to restore. They made over 14000 of these and I should save my money for a better starting point. Let's find a McDonald's. I'm buying." Unfortunately, this is about when I started to fall in love with the car. It was just so pathetic and unloved that it made me sad. I don't normally talk prices on this site, but here, in the interest of my catharsis and so that others can perhaps avoid such mistakes...I ended up paying $12k for the car and the dealer threw in a non-matching hardtop (since there was no soft top) for another $2k.
Now at this point, even though I had $14k in this car, I should have found the nearest demolition derby or a cliff and at least given it a spectacular ending. But no....
The positives: I know this car sounds like a real turd...and in fact that's what Kevin Mackay ended up calling it once he got into the restoration. But there were some modestly positive things about the car. First, it had the signs of originally being a fuel injected car: the high redline tach, the metal underhood tabs for holding the fuelie's cold air induction, etc. Second, when I got the car home and rubbed off the primer paint behind the passenger seat, I was greeted by green, wax crayon markings that read "FAWN, 1T, HT" meaning the car was originally fawn beige with only a hard top. Ok, this is really a positive of the car, but it was cool nevertheless. And the rear clip, the rear of the body, was in great shape. Pretty much everything else, unfortunately, was junk. But this leads to the last of the car's positives: I could do whatever I wanted to it without fear of erasing any good provenance or upsetting the Corvette resto crowd.
That said, I knew I wanted to preserve the original character of the solid-axle Vettes, i.e., no tube chassis or IRS as was becoming popular. Kevin reckoned this was the longest project he'd had. It was with him for just under four years, during which time Kevin sourced an original, solid '62 frame. I decided I wanted a period road racer, so Kevin incorporated numerous special features to the car, patterning them after Don Yenko's '62 racer which was restoring at the same time. These include a single loop roll bar, center-fill 24 gallon big-tank with modified hardtop cut-out, SW gauges, side-exiting exhaust, trunk-mounted battery, night marker light. Kevin did a fantastic job on the car, but I'm so underwater on this car that I can never sell it. In hindsight, I should have waited a few years, saved my money, and bought a complete 340 horse car and re-done it for a fraction of the cost it took to bring this car back to life. Lesson learned.
The car has a bulletproof GM ZZ4 motor (from Sallee Chevrolet in Oregon) with Edelbrock Performer RPM heads (64cc combustion chambers), a Centerforce Dual-Friction clutch, MSD Pro-Billet Mechanical Tach drive distributor, MSD 6A control box, an Edelbrock Victor Jr water pump, and forged aluminum roller rockers. For intake, I used a ’65 365 horse Corvette manifold to keep a period look. For the bellhousing I chose a Lakewood scattershield. Cooling is via a Griffin reproduction radiator, a factory aluminum expansion tank, a heavy duty oil-cooler, and twin remote oil filters. Braking is courtesy of a 4-wheel Z/28 disk setup from Stainless Steel Brakes, optioned with vented and grooved rotors and a remote proportioning valve. The remainder of the suspension is stock save for gusseting. Transmission is Tremec #3550 5-spd.
The very beginning
My '62, during resto and next to Don Yenko's '62 racer
'62 Racer, today
GM ZZ4 w/ Edelbrock 64cc heads, period intake, Holley 750
1962 Corvette Special
I've wanted to do a car like this - an open-wheeled, alloy-bodied, V8 roadster - since first laying eyes on the 1959 Troy Roadster several years ago. A few months back, I found the perfect starting point in a titled, 1962 Corvette chassis that had been converted to C4 Corvette IRS, with Heidts tubular front suspension and rack and pinion. I have an L72 427 and a Tremec 5 speed waiting to go in, while the body will be done in the midwest to my own basic design.
1971 Plymouth Roadrunner
I'd wanted a '71 RR for some time before finding this one. The only non-original part of the car is the paint. It was originally Lime Gold with Black strobe stripes, now Burnt Orange metallic w/ White stripes. It's a bench-seat, 383 big-block car with a 727 Torqueflite auto (on the column). Originally a Florida car, the underbody is in great shape, the engine compartment is nicely detailed and the motor is stock save for a Purple MOPAR camshaft and ported cylinder heads. Not much in the way of options on these cars but it does have the sport wheel package, power steering, and power front disc brakes per the fender tag. Like any B-body MOPAR from this era, it handles like shit but man does it look and sound the business doing it. My Dad owned a very similar '71 RR back in the day.
1972 GMC Jimmy 4x4 - SOLD to North Dakota
A super solid California truck, this Blazer rounds out the '72 GM truck part of the collection. This one is loaded up nicely with a 350 small block, TH400 automatic, 4x4, and AC, and is documented with original manual, warranty papers and POP.
1972 GMC Jimmy 4x4
1972 GMC Sierra Grande 2500
An Okie truck originally, still a very solid 3/4 ton GMC with its original 402 big block and AC. '72 was the last year for GM's "Glamour" (no joke) series fullsize trucks. Unfortunately, the original 402 broke a valve spring a few months back which lead to a few other "problems." So, the original 402 came out and went into storage and a GMPP RamJet 502 took its place, backed by a 4L85E automatic. It's now shockingly fast. The powertrain swap was done by Ken Webber of Webber Engineering and it's very well integrated.
Two ends of the spectrum from 1972
Now with Ramjet 502
1972 Chevrolet Suburban/Carryall C-10 Deluxe - SOLD to TN
An Idaho truck new, this is a nicely option half-ton version of the 3-door Suburban. It has the same powertrain as my three-quarter ton GMC pickup and C-20 Suburban, a 402 big-block with TH400 tranny. This one was loaded up nicely with dual AC, power brakes and steering, factory gauge pack, front sway bar, stainless camper mirrors and tow package. I have the original order sheet with all options detailed. Recent updates include a larger aluminum radiator, aluminum water pump, HEI ignition, a rear sway bar and a GearVendors overdrive unit.
1972 Chevrolet Suburban/Carryall C-20 Deluxe
A California truck new (still has the AIR pump), this is a 59,000-mile, 3/4 ton chassis 3-door Suburban. It has the same powertrain as my GMC pickup, a 402 big-block with TH400 tranny. This one was loaded up nicely with dual AC, power brakes and steering, factory gauge pack including tach, heavy duty wheels (16 inch diameter, eight lugs) and suspension, and towing package (hitch, mirrors, heavy duty radiator). I have the original order sheet with all options detailed.
'72 Suburban C-20
1957 Chevrolet 150/210 Post
Sweet old 2-door post Chevy with original Blue Flame in-line six and "three on the tree" trans. Little Old Lady-owned with 66k original miles, original paint, original owner's manual, etc. Several nicks and scratches here and there but a super clean, very well kept Chevy that runs like a sewing machine.
1976 Corvette Stingray
This car is a numbers-matching, L82 4-speed car that my Dad bought on October 22, 1982. When the car came to me at 16, it was essentially stock. Over the years, I have upgraded the car when time and money allowed, being careful to keep all the original parts I took off the car and to not do anything that couldn't be undone later.
Engine - I started with the original long block, installed a Comp Cams Xtreme Energy hydraulic roller camshaft kit, a set of Edelbrock Performer RPM heads (64cc chambers for about a 9.6:1 cr), full roller rockers, custom length pushrods (for the new heads), an Edelbrock Victor Jr. water pump, a Be-Cool aluminum radiator. For the intake I used an Edelbrock Performer with a Holley #3310 750cfm vac sec carb on top. Exhaust is through a set of ceramic coated Hooker Competition headers into a 2.5 inch aluminized chambered exhaust system.
Suspension - I converted the car from power to manual steering and went with the complete VB&P front transverse leaf spring setup with tubular upper and lower A-arms and the biggest diameter sway bars I could find, front and rear. Shocks are Koni reds in back and Carrera adjustables in the front. I also replaced the steel rear transverse leaf with a composite one. This suspension took about 100 pounds off the car and gives spring rate and ride height adjustment at each wheel. Cosmetically, the original paint leaves something to be desired. But, there's something to be said for patina.
1976 Corvette Stingray, L82 4-spd
1969 Donzi Ski-Sporter 16, Holman-Moody 302 This is a highly original, sympathetically restored Ski-Sporter with its original Holman-Moody Marine, 302 Ford V8 and Volvo outdrive. The boat is presented in its original color combo of tangerine bottom, sides, and deck, with blue stripes. It was originally dispatched to Gull Lake Marine in Michigan.
1973 Rectrans Discoverer 25 - SOLD to AL
And now for something completely different...a '73 Rectrans, same model as used by the John Player Norton race team back in the day. These were built by the Rectrans subsidiary of the White Corporation, atop the industrial Dodge M300 chassis. The design mandate, which fell to Larry Shinoda of Corvette Sting Ray, Chevy Z28 Camaro and Boss 302 Mustang fame, was for a streamlined RV capable of more than 10mpg. Wind tunnel testing aided in a final figure of 10.1mpg with a top speed of more than 100mph. Power is from a Dodge 413 backed by a 727 Torqueflite auto. This is the nicest condition example I've seen, with just 50k miles on the clock.
1963 GMC Lyn Air-van - SOLD to MI
This is a very rare, GMC PB2500 van chassis with a coach-built aluminum body by the Lyncoach & Truck Company. One of about 400 built, but most were based on Ford chassis with less stylized bodies than this one. Power is from a 4.9 liter GMC in-line six backed by a 4-speed manual transmission. This particular van has 12k original miles, beginning life with a fire department in Wisconsin, then a police department in the same area before moving with a retiring officer to Virginia were it was employed by a volunteer fire department.
